A cabinet for a projection television system, the cabinet including a one-piece molded structure for mounting the components, and reference surfaces unitary with the structure, for mechanically aligning critical optical components of the television system with one another.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A cabinet for a projection television system, the projection television system having a plurality of optical components, the cabinet comprising: a one-piece, unitarily molded enclosure for mounting the components; and locating features unitarily molded with the enclosure which directly engage the components and mechanically align the components with one another wherein the components include a screen and the locating features include at least one surface formed by a boss.
2. The cabinet according to claim 1 , wherein the components include a mirror and the locating features include a pocket and at least one slot that define a reference plane for the mirror.
3. The cabinet according to claim 2 , wherein the components include a second mirror and the locating features include two pockets that define a reference plane for the second mirror.
4. The cabinet according to claim 1 , wherein the components include a screen and the locating features include a pocket that defines a reference plane for the screen.
5. The cabinet according to claim 1 , wherein the components include a light projector assembly and the locating features include a vertical wall that defines a reference surface for the light projector assembly.
6. The cabinet according to claim 1 , wherein the enclosure is molded from plastic and the locating features minimize tolerance stacks for mounting the components.
7. A cabinet for a projection television system, the projection television system having a plurality of optical components, the cabinet comprising a one-piece unitarily molded structure for mounting the components, the one-piece unitarily molded structure including locating features which directly engage the components and mechanically align the components with one another, the locating features unitarily molded with the structure wherein the optical components include a screen and the locating features for the screen include at least one boss defining a reference plane for the screen.
8. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the optical components include a light projector assembly for generating images, a screen for viewing the images, and at least one mirror for directing the images generated by the projector assembly to the screen.
9. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the optical components include a mirror, and the locating features for the mirror include a pocket and at least one slot, the pocket and the at least one slot defining a reference plane for the mirror.
10. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the optical components include a light projector assembly and the locating features for the light projector assembly include a vertical wall.
11. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the optical components include a mirror and the locating features for the mirror include two pockets that define a reference plane for the mirror.
12. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the enclosure is molded from plastic.
13. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the locating means minimize tolerance stacks for mounting the components.
14. The cabinet according to claim 7 , wherein the optical components include a screen and the locating features for the screen include a pocket that defines a reference plane for the screen.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
June 20, 2000
July 26, 2005
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